Sectional railway-crossing



R. P. WEAVER. SECTIONAL RAILWAY CROSSINGl APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2 1921.

Patent-ed Sept. 20,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. P. WEAVER.

SECTIONAL RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1921.

Patented'sept. 20, 1921.

snzns -snzzr 2.

UNITED STATES",

PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD JPQWEAVER, or clmtrsmi, IEENNSYILVANIIA." V

' snorroivAL [RAILWAY-CROSSING.

T all '10 home it may concern:

tain new and useful Improvements in Sec tional Railway-Crossings, of which the following is a specification, reference being matelyi U-shaped in cross section so as to provide a tread portion having a longitudinal groove 12 and provide the downwardly had to the accompanying drawings. I

This invention relates to railway crossings, and particularly to railway crossings where the crossing is formed of a plurality of sections of structural material bolted together to form the crossing.

The general object of my invention is to provide a crossing made up of a plurality of sections, and provide means whereby the crossing sections may be interlocked witheach other by means jof wedges which will act to force the sections into interlocking engagement.

And a further object is to provide a crossing which will notcrack or break at;1'nter-,-

section of flangeways.

Another object is toprovide acrossing which maybe readily made ofmanganese or alloy steel. Y i

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description. I Y 1 My invention is illustrated in'the' accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view of a IZtll my invention;

way crossing constructed in accordance with Fig. 2 is a' section on the lime-20f Fig. 1; v a

Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryperspective view of'two of the main sections and one of the corner sections 'and the wedge for locking the sections together;

Fig. .4 Fi .1; 7

ig. 5 is a section on the line 5'5 of Fig. 6 is a sectionon'the same lines as- F ig. 4, but showing the parts separated;

. Fig, 7 is a horizontalsectional view of'the vertex of one of the sections B and the tongue l 7 Referring to these'dra'wings, and particularly toFigs. 1 and 3, it will beseenthat'my crossing is formed essentially ofeight sec tions, namely fourmain sections A, A, A and'A- and fourcorner sections B, B, B and B These main sections are all alike and the i corner sections are all alike. Hence Application filed February 2, 1922!: Serial No. 441,914.

is section on the line 4 4 of i of the web 16 is perforated at a plurality ofpoihtsyas at '24, for the passage of bolts whereby a rail maybe held inplace, as will be later stated; I

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

a description ofone of the main sections willapply toall and a description of one of the corner sections will 2. ply to all.

The main section forinstance, is approximately U-shaped in form, that isit is provided'with a portion 10 and angularly disposed'arms 11, as they may be called. The part 10 of the main section is approxiextending webs 13, each formed with an out wardly extending flange 14, as shown most clearly in Fig. 8. The groove 12 extends the ing face 15 to receive the tread of the wheel.

Each ofthe arms 11, as illustrated in section in Fig. 6, is formed to provide a vertical web 16 having an outwardly extending base flange 1'7, but the inner face of this arm for aportion of its length has its longitudinally extending head 18 recessed on one edge face, as at 19, to form one wall ofa flange groove and below this part 19 with a longitudinally extending recess 20 extending parallel to the base of the arm. The lower Wall 21 of this recess 20 or groove extends out beyond'the inner face of the head 18 and the under face of this flange 21"so formed is formed to provide a downwardly projecting longitudinally extending tongue 22, this tongue being beveled in opposite directions upon its under face so that between the apex of'this tongue and the web16- a relatively deep recess 23 is formed. This is shown most clearly in Fig. '6. The head '18 extends along the arm 11 for a portion of its length and then the headis cut away but the web'l6 is continued foracertain distance. This continuation of Coacting with these, members A, A, A and A at each corner of the crossing are tofore referred to. Each corner member is constructedas illustrated in Fig. 3 and is the corner members B, B", B? and B here right angular in plan view. The body t'rantfac is formed with a base flange 26,-

the base flanges of the members B, B, B and B and the base flanges of the members A, A, A and A being for the purpose of permitting the sections to be attached to ties or any other substructure by means of spikes in the usual manner and secure a full bearing surface for the under side of the section. The inner face of each of the corner sections, that is that face confronting the two arms 11 of adjacent main sections,

is formed to provide an inwardly projecting flange 27 below the upper or tread face of the cornerv section, the upper face of this flange being connected to the tread face of the corner section by an ogee curve, as at 28. This flange is designed to engage in the recess but. is less in thickness than the depth of this recess. 27 there is abase flange 29 which is adapted to rest upon the ballast or substructure, and the upper face of this flange extends downward and outward from the vertical web 30 .of the corner section, as at 31, then upward and outward. In other words, the upper face of this flange 29 fits against and interlocks with the under face of the flange 21, the upper face of the flange 29 being .formed with what amounts to a-longitudivnally interlocks'with the longitudinally extendlng extending groove which receives and tongue 22 on the flange 21. The flange 21 is less in thickness than the space between the flange 27 and the upper face of the flange 29 sothat a space is left between the confronting faces of the two flanges when these two sections are in engagementv with each other, and into this space a locking wedge 32 is; designed to be forced, this locking wedge forcing thetongue 22 of flange 21 into engagement-with the recess or groove in the upper face of the flange 29, as most 7 clearly'shown in Fig.4. This wedge 32 is formed upon its upper face-with a longitudina-lly extending groove 33.

It will be seen from Fig. i that when the corner section is disposed in engagement with one ofthe main. sections, the face 19 of thehead 18 of the main section andthe face 28 of the corner section will together form a flange groove 12 'which'will form acontinuation of one-of the flange grooves 12. Each of the arms of the corner sections is likewise reduced in width by removing the tread face or head of the corner section so as to leave a portion 34 constituting prac- 'ticallya fish plate which will engage with the usual guard rail C and main rail D separated by a filler Thus the arm 11 of one 'main sectionwillconfront the arm of one corner section and the railroad rails be gripped between these two arms, the 0on fronting faces and the vertical webs of these 1 arms being formed, asat 35, to engage between the base andhead of the saidrailway rails. These portions of the corner section Below the flangeare perforated, as at'36, for the passage of bolts which pass through the apertures 36, through the railway'rail, and through the apertures 17 in the arms of the main section.

Each of the corner sections has projecting from its vertex, that is the junction of its two arms, a .1ug'37, this lug being formed with a head 38 at'its extremities, the side faces of this head being flared so that the,

head is approximately triangular in plan posed to define a; square and that then th 90 the square and the'arms 11 of the main sections are engaged with the legs of the corner corner sections are placed at the corners of sections by; disposing the flanges 21 of the main sec-tions between theflanges 27 and 29 of the corner section and locking the parts 7 this position by the insertion of the wedges 32. Thus it will be seen that the section A is held to the sections B and B by wed es extending parallel to the arms 11 oft e main section A3, that the section A is held to the sections B and B by wedges, that j the section. A is held to the section B and B by like wedges, and that the section A' is held to the section A and B by wedges. There are thus eight wedges used to hold the four main sections A, -A', A and A to the four corner sections B, B, B

and B Thus a section taken transversely of each arm 11 and through the arm of the corresponding corner section would show a construction such aS that illustrated Fig. 4. Thus each section of the crossing is interlocked with the two adjacent sections by these wedges 32. :Once the wedges are inserted and driven home, the, eight sections of the crossing will be interlocked with eachother very strongly and the crossing can be handled as if it was only one integral plece or casting or asif it was made of separate sections welded or brazedtoeach other or bolted to each other. 1

A crossing of this character will not crack or break under service usage, and at the same time it is entirely possible to withdraw any of the sections and replace a worn section by a new section by simply removing the wedges 32 connecting ,a corner section or' sections with the adjacent. main sections. 1 A j r f" It willbe-seen from Big. 7- that the drift grooves iO intersect at an opening 3.7 which passesthrough the lug 37 sothatwedges 32 maybe driven out by using a drift bar inserted alongthe grooves'4l0, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, which will-strike the end of the wedge'and loosen it. These. wedges are to be made of steel or cast steel and, being slightly tapered, they may belforced into position near the guard point, 37 of the frog where the wheelspass over the intersecting flangeways 12 and 112; grooved, as at 33, to make grinding and fitting easy, and furthermore if the wedge was solidit wouldtend to crack the manga nese steel flange27 forming the bottom of the flangeway 12 The wedges should fit tightly, but not so tightly'that they cannot v togetheix, Such crossing gives slightly 'under the weight of the train 'when the wheels pass over the intersecting flange ways. Solid crossings do not give in this manner and the pounding offthe wheels going over the flangeway offa' solidcrossing causes it to become cracked or broken across the bottom of the flangeway. My improved crossing is designed to give and yield to the motion of a train in the same'mannerias any allrall ,crossingor a manganese lnsert cross- 1ngand' yet at the 'same time'permit the parts to 'be cast. It will be noted that the flangeQT which forms the bottom of the intersecting fiangeways 12*is supported by the w'edge'32, which in turn is supportedby the flange 21, and this in turn isfsupported .by thebas'e flange 29 so that beneath the in tersecti'ons of the flangeways 12 and 12 t he material forming the bottom of the flangev way is fully supported against downward pressure'and cracking strains. Ifone of the roast sections be'comes'broken or defective in molding, it is not necessary" to throw away more than 'of' the crossing, whereas in a two and four pieces.

solid cast crossing from i to T}; of the crossing is thrown away, as they aremade in On of the main ob I jects'of mycrossing is to form acros'sing of cast sections but in which braces'andbolts to hold the crossing sections together shall be eliminated. r I f Iclaim: y i V, 1. A railway crossingformed offa plurality ofsections,"each section having interlocking engagement with the next'radjacent sections, and wedges hold ng the sect ons 1n interlocked engagement;

2. A railway crossing' formed' ofa' plu- The' wedges are rality of sections, the confronting faces of any two sections being formed one with a longitudinally extending recess [and the o other with a longitudinally extending flange engaging in said recess, one wall of said recess and the confronting face of the flange being formed with a coacting tongue and groove, and a wedge disposed between one face of the flange and the confronting wall of said recess to urge the tongue and groove into interlocking engagement with each other.

3. A railway crossing of the character de scribed formed of a plurality of main sections, each main section having a body portion and armsat opposite ends extending at right angles to' the body portion, said main sections being arranged in quadrilateral relation to each other,- corner. sections each having arms disposed at right angles to each other, the corner sections be ing disposed at the exterior angles of theintersection of the arms of the main sections, and means forrinterlocking the main sections with the corner sections.

1. A railway crossing of the character described formed of a plurality of main sections, each main section having a body portion and arms at opposite ends extendin at right angles to the body portion, s ai main sections being arranged in quadrilateral relation to each other, corner sec tions each having arms disposed at right angles to each other, the corner sections be ingdisposed at the exterior anglesof the intersection of the arms of the main sections,

said corner sections and the confronting faces of the main'sections being formed to provide longitudinally extending interlocking flanges and recesses, and means for holding said flanges and recesses in interlocking engagement with each other;

-5. A railway crossing of the character described formed of aplurality of main sections, each main'sec tion having a body portion and arms at opposite ends extending at right angles to the body "portion, said main sections being arranged in quadrilateral relation to each other, corner sections each having arms disposed at right angles to each other, the corner sections being disposed at.

the exterior anglesof the intersection of the'arms of themain sections, said corner sections and the confronting faces of the main sections being formed'to provide lon gitudinally extending interlocking flanges and recesses, and wedges for holding said flanges and recesses in interlocking engagement with each other, said wedges extending longitudinally along said recess.

6. A structure of the character set forth comprising two sections, each of said sec 'tions having portions'extending parallel to each other, one of said portions being formed with an upper and a-lower laterally projecting flange defining longitudinally extending recesses betweenthe flanges,

V the other section having a longitudinally extendin flange of less thickness than the depth of the recess and insertible into said recess, the last named flange and one of the first named flanges being formed to provide an interlocking tongue and groove, and a longitudinally extending wedge disposed in said recess and engaging the last named flange to force it in interlocking engagement with the coacting flange of the other section.

7. A structure of the character set forth comprising two sections, each of said sections having portions extending parallel to each other, one of said portions being formedwith an upper and a'lower laterally projecting flange defining longitudinally extending recesses between the flanges, the

7 lation to each other, each main section being U-shaped in plan to provide arms extending at right angles to the body of the main section, four cornersections right angular in plan toprovide angularly extending arms disposed in parallel relation to the arms of the main sections, andmeans detachably interlocking said arms with each other,'each arm of each mainfsection and eacharm ofeach corner section being reduced in thickness] adjacent its outer ends to receive between them a railway rail, these reduced portions being perforated for'the of bolts to engage the rail.

passage I I 9. railway cross ng composed of four ma1n sections disposed in quadrilateral relationto each other, each main section being U-shaped in plan to provide arms extending at right angles to 'the body of the -main section, four corner-sections rightangular in plan to provideangularlyextending arms disposed in parallel relation to the armsv of the mainisections, andmeans detachably interlocking said arms with each other, each arm of each main section and each arm of each cornersection being reduced in thickness ad acent ts outer ends to receive between them a railway rail, these reduced portions being perforated for the passage of bolts to engage the rail, the tread face of the body portion of each main section having a longitudinally extending flange receiving groove, the tread faces of the arms of the main sections and corner sectionsbeing formed to define alongitudinally extending flange receiving groove at ithe point of contact of said armsftheselast named grooves alining With'the first named lugs extending from the junction of its arms grooves, eachof the corner sections having and diagonal to each other, said lugs h'av-- ing beveled heads 7 engaging against the inner faces of the main sections at the junctions of said main sections, said lugsbeing reduced in thickness .at the intersection of .said grooves of the main sections, and" means for engaging the main sections with the corner sections.

10. A railway crossing composed of four main sections disposed in quadrilateral re lation to each other, each main section be ing ,U-shaped in plan to provide arms extending at right angles to the body of the main section,,four corner sections right'angular in plan to provide angularly extending arms disposed in parallel relation -to the arms-of the main sections, means detachably] interlocking said arms with each other, each 7 arm of each main section and each arm of each corner section being reduced in thickness adjacent its outer ends toreceive between them a railway rail, these reduced portions being perforated for the passage r of bolts to engage the rail, the tread 'face of the body portion of each main section hav-v I ing a longitudinally extending, flangel re ceiving groove, the tread faces of the arms of the main sections and corner sections be- 7 ing, formed to'define a longitudinallyextending flange receiving groove at the point of contact ofsaid arms, these last named grooves alining with the 'fi'rst [named grooves, each of the corner sections having lugs extending from the junction of its, arms and diagonal to each other, said lugs having beveled'heads engaging against the inner faces of the main sections at the junc tions of said main sections, said lugs being reduced in thickness at the intersection of said grooves of the main sections, and means for detachably interlocking the main sections with the corner sections.

v 11. A railway crossing composed of four mainsections disposed in quadrilateral re-fl lation to each other, each main section being. U-shaped-in plan to provide arms extending'at' rightangles to the body of the main section, four corner sections right aningarms disposed in parallel relation to the arms of the main sections. means detachably interlocking said armswith each other, each arm of: each main section and each arm of each corner section being reduced in thick-. ness adjacent its outer ends to receive be-f tween them a railway rail, these reduced ortions being perforated for the passage of bolts to engage the rail, the tread face of the body portion of each main section having a longitudinally extending flange receiving groove, the tread faces of the arms of the main sections and corner sections being formed to define a longitudinally extending flange receiving groove at the point of contact of said arms, these last named grooves alining with the first named grooves, each of the corner sections having lugs extending from the junction of its arms and diagonal to each other, said lugs having beveled heads engaging against the inner faces of the main sections at the junctions of said main sections, said lugs being reduced in thickness at the intersection of said grooves of the main sections, and means for detach-o ably interlocking the main sections with the corner sections including interlocking flanges on the confronting faces of the main and corner sections, and longitudinally extending wedges holding said flanges in interlocked engagement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

RICHARD P. WEAVER. 

